LISBON — The federal Bureau of Prisons has quit accepting new inmates at its Elkton facility as the 2,450-bed prison grapples with the spread of the COVID-19 virus within its walls, which has already claimed the lives of three inmates and sickened at least 10 others, plus three employees.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman’s office sent local news media an email Tuesday morning saying the BOP officials agreed after speaking with him and Gov. Mike DeWine about the growing health crisis at the prison.

“The governor and I agree the BOP should stop sending prisoners to this facility, and I’m pleased they have agreed,” Portman said in a tweet.

As mentioned above, three inmates who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in the past week. According to the BOP daily update, 10 inmates and three staff have tested positive.

Correctional counselor Joseph Mayle, who serves as president of the union representing 280 of the 320 employees at Elkton, said 37 inmates are currently being cared for at area hospitals, up from 29 on Monday.

Another 71 inmates remain in isolation at the prison after exhibiting symptoms, which is down from 80 he reported the day before.

Seventeen new arriving inmates are in quarantine for two weeks as a precaution, he said, an increase of one from Monday. These are inmates who were either transferred to the low-security prison or required to self report. This is to cease because of the BOP decision.

To reduce the spread of the virus in federal prisons, U.S. Attorney General William Barr issued a directive advising the BOP to determine which elderly inmates and those with underlying medical conditions would be eligible for possible release to home confinement or a halfway house.

Mayle said 39 inmates have been identified as possible candidates for home confinement, or house arrest, and another 21 for release to halfway houses. These inmates will only be considered eligible if they do not show any signs of the virus after being quarantined for the required 14 days.

The news about the BOP’s decision to quit accepting inmates comes one day after DeWine ordered a Ohio National Guard medical unit to Elkton to assist. Mayle said 22 National Guard arrived on Monday and are assisting the prison medical services department.

The federal prison appears to be driving much of the COVID-19 statistics being reported for Columbiana County. For example, of the five people who have died in the county after testing positive, three were inmates. Their ages were 53, 65 and 76, and all had underlying health issues. The non-inmates were an 85-year-old man and a woman in her 70s who also had pre-existing medical conditions.

County Health Department public information officer Laura Fauss reported Tuesday the number of positive cases in the county reached 60, an increase of seven over the previous 24 hours. The Ohio Department of Health is reporting 59 people in the county have tested positive as of Tuesday and 36 are hospitalized.

“Yes, the prison cases being included with our total numbers does give the illusion that cases throughout the county are higher than if the prison was not included,” Fauss said. “Please remember, though, that because of the limitation on testing, we would expect the number of actual positive cases within the county is much higher than our data shows.”

The problem with the county and state numbers is they are cumulative totals and are not being adjusted as someone dies or is released from the hospital.

Fauss said they are working on a better way break down the data to give a clearer picture of what is going on in the county.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com